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The wreck of the HMS Royal Oak now lies on the seabed in Scapa Flow and is a protected war grave.

Earlier this week, Orkney Islands Council confirmed an unidentified object was found during a sonar survey of the water near the wreck site.

Royal Navy divers investigated the site and confirmed the object was a G7e torpedo, identical to those fired at Royal Oak by a U-boat. Ships have been warned not to drop anchor in the area and a 500m (1,640ft) exclusion zone has been established around the torpedo, which is lying more than 100ft under water on the seabed.

Brian Archibald, the council’s harbour master and head of marine services, said: “It’s confirmed that it is a torpedo and that it is German in origin. We’ve held further discussions on what action should be taken next. Meanwhile, there is no risk to vessels in Scapa Flow.”

Kevin Heath, of Sula Diving, which discovered the torpedo, said he is “confident” the torpedo is the missing bomb. He explained that, when the German U-boat began firing at the Royal Oak, “they got their angles wrong and this one went into the seabed and didn’t detonate”.

It is understood the two other torpedoes which missed the Royal Oak have already been discovered.